Help needed with silver spoon.

[kingdjentyman]

My Dad recently found this spoon whilst going through some old cabinets in our house. Can anyone shed some light on it origin, silversmith etc. I have had a look around on the website but no luck yet. Thanks.

[silvermakersmarks]

This looks like another of those annoying unidentified electroplaters, unless anybody else has any ideas. I read the initials as H & D. It's almost certainly British and would therefore date to the period before the use of the crown was made illegal on electroplate (c1895).

[kingdjentyman]

Thanks for the reply. If anyone else has anymore information then come forward.

[dognose]

Hi kingdjentyman,

Welcome to the Forum.

There are probably thousands of marks on plated wares yet to be identified, but they are not all the marks of the manufacturers. It was the custom of many silver plating firms to offer their customers, such as the larger retailers, their own marks applied as an inducement to place a large order. This was an attractive proposition to the retailer, as many people could not afford to buy their canteens of flatware outright, but built them as and when they had the means, and of course the customer wanted everything to match perfectly, and were thus obliged to return to the place of the original purchase. So by virtue of a large order with the silver platers, the retailer was guaranteed repeat business, and so was the plater.

So, a sponsor's mark, rather than a maker's mark, is always a possibility.

Trev.